Not Going Down
by platinumfocus
Summary: Alexis is in trouble... And how will Castle react?
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this one for myself... I like putting the characters I love in uncomfortable positions.  
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**Disclaimer: I still don't own Castle. **

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Alexis Castle paced the isles of the drug store, picking up things here and there. Shampoo, lip chap... She was desperately trying to pretend this was a routine trip, which it wasn't.

Finally she stopped in front of what she had come for. There they were, right beside the condoms... The irony didn't elude the teen. She never knew there so many choices, so she grabbed the two she knew best from TV ads. Clearblue and First Response.

She was terrified walking up to the counter. What would the cashier think? Would she be the last person to look down on Alexis, scorn her for the mistake she tried so hard to forget?

As it happened, the cashier didn't bat an eye. Alexis paid, and walked out a little too fast to look calm.

The whole walk home she tried to forget. Not to think about until she knew for sure. Not to worry about what her father would say.

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Rick Castle sat in his usual seat, his gaze fixed on Detective Beckett. They didn't have a new case, so she was using the day to catch up on her paperwork.

But today, his focus wasn't really on the lovely Detective. He was thinking about his daughter. Alexis seemed so upset this morning, and it had seemed to come from no where. Yesterday she'd been herself, and this morning she was replaced with a moody teenager. Alexis had never been a moody teenager.

It had been years since shed been moody around her uh, lady times, so that probably wasn't it. Maybe she got a bad grade, or had a fight with Ashley.

After weighing it in his head, he'd decided that she would have told him about a bad grade. It must have been a fight with Ashley. He started going through the list of tortures only a mystery writer could think of, trying to decide which would be best for the punk who hurt his baby.

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This would quite possibly be the longest five minutes of her life. Alexis sat on the bathroom floor, and the two tests sat side by side on the bathroom counter. She'd covered them with a hand towel, so so wouldn't be tempted to look before they were 'ready'.

They'll be negative. They'll be negative and then I can go on with my life like this never happened.

It was like she was willing it to be so. If not, what would she do? Really there were only three options. None of them sat well with her. She didn't think she could go through with an abortion, and she didn't think she would be strong enough to give a baby up. That left being a teenage mom.

For what seemed like the thousandth time, she checked her watch. It was time. She pulled the towel off, like ripping off a band aid.

It took a second for what she saw to register. She looked from one to the other. Two little pink lines. One blue plus sign. Overwhelmed by emotion, Alexis burst out crying.

She sat there on the bathroom floor for what seemed like hours. Finally, she reached for her phone. She needed someone to talk to? But who? Not her father, or her grandmother. They might be angry, or worse, disappointed.

Ashley would be scared. Her friends were on the honor role, they didn't usually date, they wouldn't understand. On impulse, she dialled a number.

Someone on the other end picked up.

"Beckett."

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_A/N: Review... Should I keep going with this one? _


	2. Chapter 2

**I sat on this for a while and rewrote it a few times. I just couldn't get it to come out the way _I_ wanted but I hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Castle. **

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When Beckett answered the phone, there was silence on the other end. She tried again.

"Beckett." She moved to hang up the phone.

"Kate, this is Alexis." Beckett could hear that the girl was crying. Kate could tell she was going to be glad that she'd sent Castle to a crime scene with Ryan and Esposito.

"Alexis, are you okay?"

"Yes. Well, not really. I think I'm pregnant."

Kate choked on her coffee, spitting it on her monitor. Montgomery happened to be walking by, and gave her one of his signature weird looks.

"Kate, I'm really scared."

With that, she was headed for her car. She barely knew the kid, and had to wonder why Alexis called her, but obviously she needed someone to be there for her. Although she'd never been in this exact position, she did know what it was like to feel alone in a difficult situation. She didn't want Alexis to feel that alone.

"I'll be right there Alexis. We'll figure this out."

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Alexis was shocked that Kate had responded so well. She hadn't known what to expect, but she certainly hadn't expected her to drop everything to come talk to her.

She apparently took it well. She had to wonder if Ashley would take it as well. Would he be excited for a baby, or would be push for an abortion? She wasn't sure if he ever wanted kids, never mind in high school. There was just so much she didn't know about him, they had only been together a few months, but now she was trying to decide whether he wanted to be a dad. In truth, she didn't even know whether she wanted to be a mom.

She sat down, two different scenes running through her head. In one, she was at her own college graduation, wearing a cap and gown and holding a degree. In the other, she was watching a redheaded toddler take a few wobbly steps. She started tearing up, feeling the overwhelming weight of having to choose between the two.

When Beckett got to the loft, Alexis practically threw herself into her arms, crying. There were so many things running through her head, but she couldn't find the words for any of it. Eventually realizing she probably made the detective uncomfortable, she pulled back, and went to sit on the couch. Beckett sat down beside her.

"How sure are you?"

Instead of responding with words, she handed Beckett the two capped tests.

"Do you know what you want to do?"

She thought about that for a second, trying to find the answer in her own mind. Slowly, she shook her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She took a deep breath, and spoke for the first time since Kate got there. "I don't know why I did it. I just got caught in the moment. I was so stupid."

"No Alexis. You were being young. We all make mistakes." She smiled, and held the girls hand.

"Have you told anyone else?"

Alexis started crying again, the thought of telling her dad was just to much to bear. She'd never disappointed him before. When she calmed down a little, they came up with a plan.

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Castle spent a good part of the day wondering what was up with his daughter. The only thing that distracted him was Beckett's mysterious disappearance in the afternoon. When they got back from the crime scene, Beckett was nowhere to be found. Captain Montgomery even mentioned she'd been acting didn't answer her phone, and Castle decided not to call again despite his worries.

Both mysteries were still nagging at him when he turned the key to his door, thinking to himself that at least he was home now and could solve the mystery of what was up with Alexis.

When he opened the door to his loft, he found the answer to one of his mysteries. Kate Beckett was slouched on his couch, mindlessly playing with her phone. Why was Kate Beckett sitting on his couch? She saw him, and immediately stood up, tucking her phone into her pocket. She put on one of her cop faces, and his heart sank.

He knew that face. He'd seen it a thousand times, usually in the face of some of the hardest things he'd ever seen her do. She was giving bad news.

"Castle, I have something I need to tell you."

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_A/N: Review! Like it, hate it? This isn't a character you would normally see in this position so I'm enjoying the challenge. __Sorry if you don't like the constant POV switching.  
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	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last two chapters. I think I've really gotten into the swing of this story now, so you can expect more frequent updates. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Castle".**

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Kate took a deep breath. Alexis had begged and pleaded with her to tell him, but that just didn't seem right. Kate had argued that it was her body, her baby and her father. Alexis had to do it herself. So they'd made this compromise... His eyes met hers, and she became acutely aware of how rigidly she was holding her body. She forced herself to relax, and she smiled.

"Castle, please don't report me for kidnapping." The joke was meant to diffuse the tension. "It's summer vacation, and Alexis needs some girl time. She's going to come spend a few days at my place." Kate managed to spit it out. She hoped that Castle wouldn't read into her tone too much.

He looked even more confused than she had anticipated. She looked Castle in the eyes, and she knew that the expression would betray the casual manner she was trying to have for this conversation. He didn't speak, so she continued.

"You know, paint each others nails and watch girly movies. She's even trying to convince me to go to the spa." The look of disgust for that idea on Beckett's face must have been convincing.

"Okay. Don't corrupt her too much." Castle looked uneasy, but he smiled at his partner. "Does she need anything else from here?" Beckett shook her head.

"I'll take good care of her Castle. By the way, we're on call this weekend through Monday, I'll call if a body drops." More than ever, she hoped the city could remain murder-free for a few days.

With that she left, relieved he hadn't asked anymore questions.

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About half an hour after Kate got back to her apartment, she was sitting on her couch with Alexis eating pizza and talking about school. It had seemed like a safe topic, not likely to push Kate to bring up the situation before she was ready to talk about it. She felt so numb about everything. Finally, Alexis decided that they had to talk about it sooner or later.

"Kate, what am I going to do?"

"Alexis, that's really your choice. You need to weigh the options and make a decision. Whatever choice you make, it's one you'll have to live with the rest of your life." The room fell silent for a few minutes while Alexis let that sink in.

"I don't know what I want to do, but I think I know what I don't want to do." She looked up at Kate, "I don't want to have an abortion. It just doesn't feel right."

"Well, then we should probably make a doctor's appointment for you. Get it confirmed before you start telling people." Alexis nodded, and Kate pulled out her phone. "I can make this call for you if you'd rather. My Gynecologist is really good, and she's usually in on weekends."

Alexis nodded again, and Kate dialed the phone. All that Alexis could think about while Kate was on the phone was that she couldn't believe this was happening.

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It was about eleven, and Rick Castle was still sitting at his computer, drawing a blank. He just couldn't find anything to write. His mind kept coming back to Beckett's bizarre visit. He had wanted to ask so many questions, but the pleading look in her eyes had warned him off of that. He trusted her daily with his life, now he had to trust her with his little girl.

The fact that Kate was involved in whatever was going on made him feel so much better. It couldn't be illegal, Kate wouldn't allow that. That meant that Alexis wasn't drinking or on drugs, although he had never really thought that she could be.

He remembered his theory earlier, that Ashley must have broken up with her. It would make sense, with no real day-to-day mother figure in her life, that Alexis would need an older woman to talk to about that. Castle stopped worrying, and started back at thinking about what he should do to the boy who hurt his daughter.

Suddenly, he felt a spark of inspiration, and his fingers began flying across the keys.

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_A/N: Review, please! They make me feel guilty for not updating faster. _

_Knockdown is tomorrow!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. If I did, I wouldn't be going crazy waiting to find out what happens on tonight's episode. **

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At 7:00 the following morning, Kate Beckett's alarm went off. For a few seconds she was confused about why she had an alarm set this early on her day off. It all came back to her when she heard a cell phone alarm go off in the next room a few seconds later. Alexis.

They'd managed to get Alexis a morning appointment, mostly thanks to Kate's bizzare work schedule. Her dentist, doctor, gyno, even her physical therapist (injuries were inevitable in her line of work) had all been carefully selected because they were available on weekends and evenings so that she didn't have to go during work.

She'd stayed up late talking to Alexis. They'd talked about how she was going to tell her Dad. They'd talked about Ashley. Alexis was really worried about how Ashley was going to feel. As the night went on, Alexis seemed more and more sure she wanted to have the baby. Kate had asked about adoption, and Alexis had shrugged. She didn't push the topic.

As she brushed her hair, she wondered how Alexis had ended up in this position. She was such a smart girl, with such a bright future. Teenagers have sex, but she'd thought that Alexis would have been more careful. She hoped that no matter what Alexis chose, she'd stay in school.

Alexis was in the shower, so she headed for the kitchen to make breakfast.

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In the car on the way to her appointment, Alexis had been so nervous she wanted to cry. They barely spoke the whole drive, but Kate had reached over and held her hand.

That made her think of her mom, and wonder what this trip would be like with her instead of Kate. Giving it a quick thought, she knew it was good that she was away from her mother's drama today. That kind of stress couldn't be good for her baby.

That thought took Alexis by suprise. It was the first time she'd really thought about "her baby", in the context of this baby being a little person. She'd considered "a baby", in the abstract that she might be having one. She also realised that the distinction between "her baby" and "the baby she might be having" wouldn't have made sense to her a few days ago.

Something Kate had said yesterday was weighing heavy on her mind. Adoption. She wasn't ready to be a parent, but didn't want to abort. Maybe that was the best option for the baby?

She was thinking about the kind of family she would want her child to have when she noticed the car was stopped and Kate was looking at her. Kate squeezed her hand, and they got out of the car.

During the short time they were sitting in the waiting room, Alexis couldn't help but focus on the heavily pregnant patients. That would be her in a few months. Doing some math, she would probably look like that when she graduated.

Finally, her name was called and she went into an examination room. Beckett stayed firmly at her side, and she was so glad she wasn't doing this alone.

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It was about 10:30 when Ashley's phone rang, waking him up. Normally he would have gone back to sleep, but the caller ID said it was Alexis so he picked up.

"Good morning beautiful." He was grinning when he said it, usually it made her giggle.

"Morning Ashley, are you free for lunch?"

Despite being confused (she'd said she was studying this weekend), Ashley had agreed, and they made plans to meet. At noon, he walked into the diner they usually met at, and saw her sitting at their table with an older woman he didn't recognise. She looked nervous.

He hadn't even sat down yet when he noticed something sitting on the table. Shocked, he realised it was a pregnancy ultrasound.

"Alexis, what's that?" He could hear the panic in his own voice.

"That's our baby."

The last thing Ashley remembered was that the floor seemed to be getting closer.

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_A/N: I love reviews. _


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I haven't nailed down a timeline of the pregnancy yet, but for those of you who are worried about such an early ultrasound, you can generally get a clear image at 7 weeks with a vaginal ultrasound.

**I'm so sorry this update took so long. I had something unexpected come up in my personal life, and I just wasn't up to writing for a while. You can expect the next part early this week. **

**Disclaimer: don't own Castle.**

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Kate marveled at Alexis' composure. The teen had kept calm most of the weekend, but she worried that she might be bottling emotions. For now at least, she needed to be calm.

Knowing Castle as well as she did, she knew that money wouldnt be an issue for Alexis. Whether it was the best thing or not, he'd help her out. Alexis seemed to be very interested in "working things out". They spent most of the weekend exploring options for her education. Alexis was determined not to give that up.

Ashley wasn't taking it as well. When Alexis said she was keeping the baby, he had said he needed to think. He hadnt returned her calls since then.

But now Alexis was losing her cool. They pulled up to her building, tears welling up in her eyes. She reached for Kate's hand, squeezing it before getting out. She so desperately wanted to go in with her, but Alexis made it clear she wanted to do this alone. She let Alexis go, but didn't drive away. She pulled into the parking spot she usually used beside Rick's car (and damn, what a car).

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Castle had spent the weekend waiting for Alexis to come home. He was suspicious of Kate's motive. He was sure that they were gossiping, and that his daughter was sharing all the details of whatever had her so upset. He was jealous, but he knew that no matter how cool, there were some things a girl couldn't share with her dad. As long as she wasn't having... No. He cut the thought off there. He wasn't willing to think that. Not his Alexis, not yet.

He was staring at a blank screen, watching a blinking cursor. He hadn't written a word all day, despite having spent hours firmly camped at his computer. He sighed in frustration before looking up to see his daughter standing in the entry to his office. He'd never seen her look like this, not even when she'd messed up her presentation and thought she was going to fail biology. Her hair was messed up, her face was red and streaked from crying.

"Alexis, what's wrong?" He closed the gap between them immediately, taking his little girl in his arms. Holding her close, she cried for what seemed like a very long time. Eventually, she pulled away, tears drying. Nothing in his life could have prepared him for what his daughter was about to tell him.

"Dad, I'm pregnant."

His first response to that was a flash of anger. He tried to reign it in, but it was too late. The Castle's were close enough that he saw the despair on her face as soon as she had seen his anger. Her eyes were welling up again.

In that moment, she bore a great deal of resemblance to a much younger Alexis, wanting her Daddy to make her feel better after a bad dream or a scraped knee. He realised that she needed her father now, more than she ever had then. He hugged her close again.

"It's okay Alexis. Everything will be alright."

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It was just after ten and Kate was considering giving up. Maybe she had been wrong about how Castle would react. She reached for her keys, and just then she saw him walking up to the door of his car, phone in hand. Silently, she opened the door.

She had the element of surprise. Before he knew what was happening, she had him down on the hood of her car, and his phone was in her hand.

"Beckett? What the hell are you doing?"

"The better question would be what are you doing, Castle?" She looked at the phone, seeing that the map apps was open. She knew the address, she had driven Ashley home after his fainting episode in the coffee shop. "Why are you going to Ashley's house?"

"I wanted to talk to his parents about this."

"At eleven pm on a Sunday? Get real Castle." She knew Castle much too well to fall for such an obvious lie. She let him up, and he turned to face her. She had expected to see anger in his eyes, but this was different.

"Beckett, I know how this looks. I wasn't going there to threaten the poor kid or anything. I might have been older than Ashley, but I remember finding out that Meredith was pregnant. I wasn't ready. I felt like it was the end of all the fun I'd had and all the fun I still wanted to have. I didn't realise how great fatherhood could be until I held that tiny pink squalling infant. And now that baby's having her own baby. I just wanted to impart some wisdom." He smirked, his serious expression melting. "And maybe intimidate him, just a little bit."

"I'm coming with you Castle. Don't argue." She handed him back his phone.

"Can I at least drive?" He pleaded, trying in vain to use his 'puppy dog eyes'.

Kate laughed, and got into the drivers side of her car. She'd known him well enough to know he was going to go after Ashley. She was just glad that he didn't seem intent on making the boy her next case.

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_Thanks for reading! _


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: To make up for how long my last update took, I tried to get this one finished for you right away.

Alexis intentionally showed up at school barely on time, as weird as it was for her. Ashley was waiting for her at her locker when she got to school. Everyone in the hallway seemed to pick up on the tense mood. She made eye contact, unsure of how he was going to react.

"I'm sorry. I'm scared, but I'll be there for you, no matter what you decide." Ashley reached out tentatively for her hand.

"I've decided Ashley." Before he could say anything, the bell rang and Alexis turned to go to her first period class.

Alexis didn't text in class, but she got two text messages in the first few minutes of class.

**Ashley  
**Can we talk at lunch?

**Jen  
**Where were u this wkend? Y does Ash look so upset?

Alexis ignored both texts. Neither one was worth getting caught with her phone out in class.

For the first time ever, she had trouble paying attention to the lecture. Her notes were incomplete. She was too distracted trying to imagine what a family with Ashley would be like. She loved him, but how often do you end up with the person that you love in high school? She tried to imagine what the baby would look like, trying not to let her hand hover over her stomach. As the class went on, she started to feel sick. She just made it to the end of the period, running out as soon as the teacher dismissed them. Jennifer followed her into the bathroom.

"Alexis, are you sick?" She was genuinely concerned. They had been friends for too long to hide anything from each other. Alexis slowly shook her head. Jen's voice moved to a whisper. "You're not pregnant are you?"

Alexis nodded.

"Oh my god, what are you going to do? Does Ashley know, is that what he was sulking about this morning? Does your Dad know? Wow. I thought you would be careful!"

Alexis rinsed her mouth, and popped a piece of gum out of the pack. "I thought I would be too. I still don't know why we weren't."

She studied herself in the mirror. She looked tired, almost sick. Just then, one of the most popular girls in their grade came out of the bathroom stall beside the one Alexis had been using. She smirked, already texting.

The next few weeks were anything but routine at the Castle residence.

News of the pregnancy had spread like wildfire at school. By the end of second period people were asking Ashley if it was his, and the school administration heard about it by the end of lunch.

Castle knew why he was being called into the school, but it was more than a little awkward sitting down beside Ashley's parents in the office, who he assumed didn't know yet. Without the "kids" in the room, the principal asked him and Ashley's parents if 'it was true'. Rick nodded his head, and Ashley's parents looked bewildered. They turned to him, and there was a long awkward silence.

The principal told them himself. They were pretty hard on Ashley at first, but things got better from there.

The poor kid was really trying to do his part. He got a job, working part time at the deli counter of a grocery store. It wasn't much, but it would let him put some money away before the baby came. He came over every night he could, doing everything he could for Alexis.

Alexis found an accredited online university based in Canada that would let her start working on university right away, before the baby came. She was busy, working on her high school homework and on her new university courses. As the days went on, the way she talked about the situation changed. She seemed less scared, and more like she was looking forward to it.

He was torn about that himself. He knew he shouldn't be happy about his teenage daughter being pregnant, but he was excited to meet the little person growing inside his daughter.

Martha hadn't even missed a beat when they told her. The first thing she said was that Alexis was going to need some cute maternity clothes for spring.

Meredith hadn't been so easy. Alexis emailed her to tell her (she was in Europe), and the first thing she did was call Rick, accusing him of not paying enough attention to her. She had been emailing Alexis, but she hadn't come around yet. Rick had found her crying one night after her mother had tried to push her to have an abortion. She hadn't mentioned that again, but she wasn't exactly the image of a supportive mother.

They all went to her next appointment together. Rick, Ashley and Kate were all there when the sound of a little heartbeat filled the room. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he saw Beckett's eyes tear up. She later denied it, but that didn't say much. Kate Beckett wasn't the type to admit to crying in public.

Kate knew that this pregnancy was less than ideal for all of them, but it had a definite upside for her. Alexis continued to confide in her, even going as far as to invite her to another doctor's appointment. She frequently went to the Castle's loft for dinner. She would eat with them, laugh with them, and plan for the future with them. After Alexis coming to her, it felt natural, organic. It had been a long time since she felt like she truly fit in somewhere, but here with this family felt so right.

The biggest downside was that spending so much more time with Castle, in his home… It made it hard to ignore how she felt. She had sworn to herself when he went to the Hampton's with Gina that she would get over him. She had been pretty sure that she had too, but sometimes he would hold eye contact a little too long and it would all come back to her.

She was determined that she could be part of this family, be there for Alexis. But to do that, she was sure she couldn't get involved with Rick. Despite how much time she had spent with him, she still saw the playboy side of him sometimes, and she wasn't willing to let that side of him hurt her.

She was just wrapping up the paperwork from their last case (when had they become "their" cases to her? When did he become her partner, not her sidekick?). Her phone buzzed, and the feeling when she read the text message was horrible.

**Castle  
**We're at the hospital. It doesn't look good right now. Can you make it?

Sorry for the cliff hanger. Okay, maybe I'm not. But I'll get another update out ASAP.


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